IBCL Seeks to Promote Luxembourg-India Trade Opportunities At Home & Abroad

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Aditya Sharma, President and Board Member of the Indian Business Chamber of Luxembourg (IBCL), about his recent and upcoming trips to India and their significance for IBCL members and Luxembourg-India business relations, as well as IBCL's 14th anniversary event which is taking place later this month.

An IBCL delegation returned to Luxembourg on 25 February 2023 after three weeks attending three separate conferences in India: the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Global Investors Summit 2023 in Lucknow from 10 to 12 February, the Economic Times (ET) Global Business Summit (GBS) 2023 in New Delhi on 17 and 18 February and the 22nd World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) in New Delhi from 22 to 24 February.

As Aditya Sharma explained to Chronicle.lu, IBCL put together this trade mission quite quickly (in the space of a month), in coordination with Boson Energy SA (where Mr Sharma serves as Director of Strategy and Senior Vice President Asia), Blue Jade Capital Partners (with their India partner) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), having only found out about some of the events in late December 2022. Despite the short notice, a small delegation joined Mr Sharma on this trip and many other IBCL members, as well as Luxembourg MPs and representatives of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and various companies in the Grand Duchy, had previously shared their thoughts and ideas for the delegation to then present in India. Mr Sharma described the trade mission as "very much appreciated" by those who participated, who said they enjoyed IBCL's outreach work and the opportunity to meet India's business community in the country itself.

Mr Sharma reported that Luxembourg was "well seen" in India, known for its beauty and/or financial prowess, and that such trade missions proved the Grand Duchy's interest in doing business with India. He announced that Luxembourg-based Boson Energy took this opportunity to propose a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttar Pradesh with the goal of setting up 20 hydrogen plants there in the next ten years. He expects further news on that front during his next trip to India later this month. 

During the trade mission, Aditya Sharma also had the opportunity to meet with Luxembourg's Ambassador to India, Peggy Frantzen, and Deputy Head of Mission, Valérie Heyman, as well as Business Developer, Abhishek Wadehra. These exchanges focused on areas of potential collaboration aimed at attracting investment from India to Luxembourg. Discussions also touched on the possibility of an official government delegation travelling from Luxembourg to India in the coming months or next year. Mr Sharma recalled that 2023 is a particularly busy year for India, which currently holds the G20 Presidency.

Mr Sharma will be representing IBCL and Luxembourg in India once again in the coming weeks, this time at the G20 International Trade Conference on "Trade and Investment with G20 Countries- Challenges and Opportunities" in Chennai on Thursday 16 March 2023. He received an invitation after speaking with senior officials in India last month. Regarding the significance of IBCL's presence at this event, he noted that this would increase the Grand Duchy's visibility in India and give the Luxembourg business community a voice at this global event. He will be travelling alone on this occasion, presenting his own ideas as well as those of fellow IBCL members. His priority topics will include international standardisation and developing trust between companies in the two countries, as well as looking at how India might learn from Luxembourg in the area of "smart cities".

Also this month, IBCL is celebrating its 14th anniversary with an event in Luxembourg, dedicated to "New India: Your Investment Destination and Partner", organised together with the Embassy of India to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, on Monday 27 March 2023 at 15:45 at Deloitte Auditorium (Cloche d'Or). Representatives of IBCL, Deloitte, the Embassy of India, Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy, Invest India, ArcelorMittal and Paul Wurth are expected to speak at this event. There will also be a panel discussion followed by a Q&A and a networking session. Aditya Sharma explained that the Indian Embassy had suggested the topic in the context of India's G20 Presidency. He said it aimed to help people in Luxembourg, particularly those thinking about setting up a business in India, better understand "what India really is" today. He elaborated that the country had seen "huge progress" in terms of infrastructure development over the past seven to eight years, with India's per capita income having doubled since 2014-15.

Mr Sharma concluded that he personally believes in the need to "connect both ends of the rope," i.e. create a circular ecosystem that promotes trade in both countries, and that IBCL has a role to play in promoting Luxembourg business in India and vice versa.

(Photo credit: ET GBS / Twitter)